On February 28, Chai Jing, a former journalist of China Central Television (CCTV), released a documentary about the severe air pollution in China. The documentary, named Under the Dome, was directed, produced and narrated by her. Like any publication revealing dark side of the country, the government prevented the people from watching Chai’s production soon after it was published.
Surprisingly and no surprisingly, the controversial 104-minute work received over 200,000,000 views during its six-day “survival time”. It has been a record in China, which surprised the leaders and the ordinary people. Nevertheless, it is not surprised to see Under the Dome became the hottest topic of the country, because the documentary was released on the Internet.
The Internet is ubiquitous. Chai’s work was published through Youku – the top video sharing website in China – and the official site of government-owned the People’s Daily. 12 hours after the release, the documentary received over six million views, and started to be spread through mobile phone apps. In the morning of March 2, Under the Dome, as well as its related articles, was available on every form of mobile terminal.
It seems that Greenfield’s conclusion – “‘ubiquitous’ meant not merely ‘in every place’ but also ‘in every thing’” – applies to Chai’s latest production. Any one could watch Under the Dome through any device connected to the Internet, and could make his own comment on it or simply “like” it then share it with his friends. Supposed a tea pot could remind you to watch it when you are about to enjoy an English breakfast, a table could broadcast it for you and a cup plate could share video, its views would be more surprising.
However, such a high speed of information spreading is a risk of the recent Chinese government. Although Under the Dome was removed by authority less than a week after its publication, the discussion of air pollution has caused a deep distrust among the public, which goes against the government’s hope of social stability. Information is strictly controlled in the country, and, thus, it seems quite difficult for China to allow any means of speeding-up information spreading.
Source:
Adam Greenfield. (2006). Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing.
China takes Under the Dome anti-pollution film offline. (7 March 2015). BBC News Asia. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31778115.
Chai Jing Qiong Ding Zhi Xia Yin Bao Wang Luo: 48 Xiao Shi Shi Pin Bo Fang Chao 2 Yi [Chai Jing’s Under the Dome causes hot debate in Internet: 200 million views in 48 hours]. (2 March 2015). DoNews. Retrieved from: http://www.donews.com/net/201503/2882208.shtm
Fabio's Blog 